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This tuneful, frivolous bit of musical candy will probably be unfamiliar but is well worth knowing. Jacques Offenbach wrote dozens of operettas that are seldom seen in France and never performed anywhere else. Les Brigands ("The Bandits") is one of them, and it raises the question of how much more musical fun is buried in dusty Parisian archives. But while we wait for an answer to that question, at least we have this to enjoy. The plot involves a gang of 19th-century robbers lurking in the Alps to trap travelers, but this production recasts them as modern gangsters in Chicago. It works well enough, except that the text keeps referring to mountain passes, tunnels, etc. while the scenery shows what looks like the lobby of a luxury hotel. Still, the music is delightful and the singing and acting are excellent, notably Michel Trempant as the bandit leader and Valerie Chevalier as his daughter. --Joe McLellan
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